All aboard for a vintage Anglemog day out
Next time you’re sitting behind a bus in your Morgan take a moment to wonder what its story is! Certainly members of Anglemog will be doing so following a fascinating visit to the Zero2 Bus Museum – whose strapline is “Every Bus has a story”.
The museum, based in Great Yeldham, Essex, houses over 40 restored buses dating from the early 1930s through to 1988. Included in the collection is a Greyhound from the US, a bus from Kowloon, Hong Kong and some that have seen service in Canada and Australia before being retired to the Essex countryside! The museum also boasts around 10,000 model buses, coaches, trams and trolleybuses.
Opened earlier this year, Zero2 was founded by retired bus operator Peter Newman who owned the Ensignbus company. When he and his family sold the commercial operations side of Ensignbus to FirstGroup they decided to keep their personal historic bus collection and display it in a purpose-built museum. Many of the buses had already made appearances in a variety of films and TV shows as well as being hired for wedding parties and private functions and the museum now allows the public to see them up close. Its name Zero2 was Peter’s personal radio call sign when he operated London Pride Sightseeing’s open-top bus tours in the capital.
Despite it being one of the hottest days of the year, 17 Morgans (plus three interlopers AKA tin tops) and their assorted Anglemoggers made the most of the scenic drive to Zero2 on the Essex/ Suffolk border. The museum had opened especially for the group who enjoyed not only the bus collection – clambering aboard being actively encouraged! - but also additional displays of a number of Royal Mail Postbuses, vintage ticket machines and a fully operational maintenance workshop.
For many the highlight was a trip on a vintage open-top double decker. The 1971 Daimler, which was originally operated by London Transport (with a roof!), was acquired by Ensign in 1982 and converted into an open-topper. A very welcome blast of fresh air was enjoyed as the bus wound its way around the beautiful Essex and Suffolk countryside.
No Morgan day out is complete without some sustenance and this was enjoyed at the museum’s food court which offered a range of options - all served from the converted interiors of buses, naturally! All in all an excellent day out and huge thanks to Anglemogger Peter Tatlow for organising the event.
A great turnout from Anglemog Members to the Zero 2 Bus Museum at Great Yeldham with a big thank you to Peter Tatlow for all his hard work.
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